Malcolm Bailey's Football Blog

Friday, 17 April 2026

ONE OF THE GREATS-yes definitely!!

17th April 2006

Alan Shearer was (is?) one of the "greats of the English game"! His 206 Newcastle United goals and 260 Premier League goals were both records, he was a Footballer of the Year, PFA Player of the Year, one of his transfers was for a world record fee, he was a Premier League title winner and scored 30 times in 63 England appearances. He had planned to retire at the end of the 2005/06 season, his tenth at hometown club Newcastle United. But on Monday 17th April 2006 his playing career came to a slightly premature end when a knee injury saw him substituted in what proved to be his last match with three matches of the season remaining. Mind you it was a fitting finale with Newcastle winning 4-1 away to their local rivals Sunderland. Of course Alan Shearer scored one of those goals. Fitting for such a great player.

Injuries were never far away, especially for somebody so "sort after!!"

Another injury problem, this time an ankle ligament injury sustained in a pre-season match at Goodison Park, restricted Shearer to just two goals in 17 games in the 1997-8 season. His injury was reflected in the club's form, and Newcastle finished just 13th in the Premier League. To help Shearer get over the injury, club physiotherapist Paul Ferris devised unorthodox methods. At the club's training ground at Durham University, Ferris stacked six school benches and placed Shearer on top with high-jump mats either side – the striker trying to improve his balance by standing on one leg and bending over to pick up coins while having objects thrown at him, while a crowd of student onlookers watched on!!

Alan Shearer (born 13 August 1970) is an English football pundit and former professional player. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of all time and one of the greatest players in Premier League history, he is the league's record goalscorer with 260 goals. He was named Football Writers' Association Player of the Year in 1994 and won the PFA Player of the Year award in 1995. In 1996, he came third in both Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. In 2004, he was named by Pele in the FIFA List list of the world's greatest living players. Shearer was one of the first two players inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2021.

Shearer played his entire career in the top level of English football. He started his career at Southampton in 1988 before moving to Blackburn Rovers in 1992, where he established himself as among the most prolific goalscorers in Europe and won the 1994-5 Premier League In the summer of 1996, he joined his hometown club Newcastle Utd for a then World Record £15 million, and in his first season won his third consecutive P.L. Golden Boot. He played in the 1998 and 1999 FA Cup Finals finals, captaining the team in the latter, and eventually became the club's all-time top scorer. He retired at the end of the 2005-6 seasonj.

For England, Shearer appeared 63 times and scored 30 goals. UEFA Euro 10 was his biggest success at international football; England reached the semi-finals and Shearer was awarded the UEFA Euro Golden Boot and was named in the UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament. He went on to captain England at 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000, then retired from international football.

Since retiring as a player in 2006, Shearer has worked as a television pundit for the BBC. In 2009, he briefly left his BBC role to become Newcastle United's manager in the last eight games of their 2008-9 season, in an unsuccessful attempt to save them from relegation. Shearer is a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), a Deputy Lieutenant of Northumberland, a Freeman of Newcastle upon Tyne and an honorary Doctor of Civil Law of Northumbria and Newcastle Universities. More than a Hat Trick!!

Thursday, 16 April 2026

ABERDEEN FC-the early years, mainly!

Aberdeen FC is one of Scotland's most successful football teams, with 18 major domestic trophy wins: four League Titles with 17 runners-up finishes, eight Scottish Cups with nine final defeats, and six Scottish League Cups with nine final defeats (as of March 2020). They are the only Scottish team to have won two European trophies – the European Cup Winners Cup against Real Madrid on 11 May 1983 and the European Super Cup against the European Cup holders Hamburger FC in December 1983.

Aberdeen also has the distinction of never having been relegated: other than during two seasons during World War I when they dropped out of competitive football for logistical reasons and were subsequently re-admitted, they have spent every year since 1905 as members of the top division, a record bettered only by Celtic.

Origins of the club

The Aberdeen FC was born out of the merger of three city clubs; Aberdeen, Victoria Utd and Orion. A public meeting on 20 March 1903 was attended by more than 1,600 citizens, and on that date the amalgamation issue was discussed and given the go-ahead. On 14 April 1903 (123 years ago) the merger was made official and Aberdeen Football Club was born.

The merger allowed Aberdeen (wearing an all-white kit) to seriously entertain thoughts of joining the Scottish Football League, but had to settle with spending its inaugural season in the Northern League having narrowly failed to gain admission to the First Division.

Early years (1903–1917)

The new club played its first match on 15 August 1903, a 1–1 draw with Stenhousemuir - the goalscorer was William McAulay. That first season produced a win in the Aberdeenshire Cup, but only a third-place finish in the Northern League. Undaunted, the club applied for membership of the Scottish League for the following season, and were duly elected, although to the Second Division, rather than the First which the directors had aspired to.

With the arrival of League football in 1904–05, Aberdeen changed kit colours to black and gold, resulting in the new nickname of the Wasps. The club at this time was managed by Jimmy Philip, and he steered the club to a Scottish Qualifying Cup win on 26 November 1904, a 2–0 victory over Renton at Dens Park. At the end of that first season, despite having finished seventh out of 12 teams, Aberdeen were elected to the new, expanded First Division, and have been in the top tier of Scottish football ever since, a record shared with only Celtic.

Once in the First Division, however, the club's progress was steady rather than spectacular – a Scottish Cup semi-final appearance in 1908 and another in 1911 being the highlights of the pre-war period. In that season of 1910–11, Aberdeen recorded their first victories over the Old Firm, and led the league for a time, but the silverware ended up in Glasgow, as was becoming customary.

Wartime affected the club as much as any other, and in spite of spending cuts and other economies, by 1917 the situation was untenable and, along with Dundee and Raith Rovers, Aberdeen dropped out of competitive football for two seasons. Between the wars (1919–1939)

Senior football returned to the north-east of Scotland on 16 August 1919, The Dons (as they had been known since 1913) resuming with a fixture against Albion Rovers. Philip was still in charge, and continued to oversee a team capable of isolated good results, but never quite able to sustain a challenge long enough to win a trophy.

In 1923, Aberdeen were drawn against Peterhead in the Scottish Cup, and posted their record score – a 13–0 victory. The game took place in torrential rain, and it is recorded that the Aberdeen goalkeeper, Harry Blackwell, played in a waterproof coat, and spent at least part of the game sheltered under a spectator's umbrella.

One of the Wembley Wizards, Scottish international Alex Jackson, played for Aberdeen from 1924 to 1925.

Philip retired in 1924, and was replaced as manager by Paddy Travers. Travers's Aberdeen sides were no more successful than his predecessors', but he did preside over the team's first Scottish Cup final in 1937, as well as two close-season tours to South Africa, the second of which, soon after the Cup final defeat, ended in tragedy when outside-right Jackie Benyon died of peritonitus.

In November 1931, Travers unexpectedly dropped a number of first team regulars, none of whom played for the club again. It wasn't until the publication of the club's official history in the 1970s that it became clear that there had been a suspicion of a betting scandal; no action was taken against any player at the time.

Tuesday, 14 April 2026

CAERNARFON BLUNT THE FLINT

Sunday 12th April.....Caernarfon Town have won the JD Welsh Cup 2025-26 for the first time in their history with a dominant win over Flint Town United. A UEFA Conference League qualifying campaign awaits Richard Davies' side next season!!!

Caernarfon Town secured their first Welsh Cup with a devastating opening 18 minutes proving decisive in a 3-0 win over Flint Town United in the final at Newport's Rodney Parade.

The Cofis took full control against their Cymru Premier rivals through goals from Sion Bradley, Matty Jones' free-kick and an Adrian Cieślewicz header. Richard Davies' side have sealed their place in next season's Europa Conference League qualifiers, their second European appearance in three seasons.

Flint, who were looking to win the Welsh Cup for the first time in 72 years, will now turn their focus to securing JD Cymru Premier survival with one game of the season remaining!!!

Sion Bradley celebrates after scoring Caernarfon's opening goal against Flint — Image caption,
Sion Bradley, an unused substitute for TNS in last year's final, scored Caernarfon's opening goal against Flint this time!!
Caernarfon showed their intent from the start and a cross from captain Danny Gossett was headed on by Zack Clarke, but Bradley fluffed his effort wide inside the opening two minutes. Flint began to settle into the game, but Caernarfon went ahead after seven minutes Good work by Josh Lock and Paulo Mendes set up Bradley, who wrong-footed the Flint defence and slotted past keeper Jack Flint for the opening goal. Bradley continued to cause problems for Flint and was brought down by Elliott Reeves on the edge of the penalty area and from the resulting free-kick Jones scored with a curling effort which gave the goalkeeper no chance.
At the other end Mikey Burke's effort was blocked by Phil Mooney, but Caernarfon extended their lead when from a Jones corner, Cieslewicz's header crashed in off the crossbar and over the line to make it 3-0. Stunned by the events of the opening 20 minutes, Flint responded and enjoyed a good spell of their own with Burke denied by Connor Roberts while Darren Stephenson's header struck the post. For Caernarfon, Jones lined up another free-kick in a dangerous position, but his effort on this occasion was pushed onto the crossbar by keeper Flint. Flint made another crucial save just before the interval to deny Caernarfon midfielder Lock, who was through on goal.
Owen himself created an opportunity for himself a few minutes later only to blast his effort over the crossbar. Caernarfon, seeing out the game, made a number of substitutions with the most significant being the introduction of veteran Darren Thomas. It was fitting that Thomas, alongside captain and man of the match Gosset, lifted the Cup and mark a historic day for Caernarfon Town.
A tremendous performance by the Cofis who deserved their win but credit too to Flint who kept going to the end despite the early goals. And a very special mention to both sets of supporters who made the long and difficult journey to Newport on a Sunday and created a great atmosphere. FAW need to learn - hold the final in a location convenient for both clubs in future.
Image source,FAW
Image caption,
**Matty Jones celebrates after scoring Caernarfon's second goal.**
**Teams:**
Caernarfon Town: Connor Roberts, Matty Jones, Phil Mooney, Paulo Mendes, Danny Gosset (Captain), Zack Clarke (Brad Young 83'), Sion Bradley (Darren Thomas 88'), Adrian Cieslewicz (Rio Owen 85'), Josh Lock (Iwan Lewis 85'), Kyle Harrison, Ryan Sears (Morgan Owen 85') *Substitutes:* Hari Thomas, Adam Davies
Flint Town United: Jack Flint, Ben Woollam, Mikey Burke (Josh Jones 76'), Sidi Fofana, Harry Owen (Captain), Jack Thorn (Jake Phillips 45'), Ben Hughes (Ben Wynne 90'), Elliott Reeves, Lee Jonas (Max Purvis 81'), Jake Canavan, Darren Stephenson *Substitutes:* Dawid Szczepaniak, Evan Smith, Alec Mudimu
Referee: Iwan Griffith Attendance: 2,224
Surprisngly Caernarfon have spent much of their history in the English game. They were a pretty strong Northern Premier League side by the mid 1980s, had a great FA Cup run too. They were very reluctant to make the move to Welsh football; for a few years they were one of the 'exiles' and played 'home' games at Curzon Ashton as a consequence.
*BLOG ENDS HERE!!*

Image caption,
Sion Bradley, an unused substitute for TNS in last year's final, scored Caernarfon's opening goal against Flint this time!!
Caernarfon showed their intent from the start and a cross from captain Danny Gossett was headed on by Zack Clarke, but Bradley fluffed his effort wide inside the opening two minutes. Flint began to settle into the game, but Caernarfon went ahead after seven minutes Good work by Josh Lock and Paulo Mendes set up Bradley, who wrong-footed the Flint defence and slotted past keeper Jack Flint for the opening goal. Bradley continued to cause problems for Flint and was brought down by Elliott Reeves on the edge of the penalty area and from the resulting free-kick Jones scored with a curling effort which gave the goalkeeper no chance.
At the other end Mikey Burke's effort was blocked by Phil Mooney, but Caernarfon extended their lead when from a Jones corner, Cieslewicz's header crashed in off the crossbar and over the line to make it 3-0. Stunned by the events of the opening 20 minutes, Flint responded and enjoyed a good spell of their own with Burke denied by Connor Roberts while Darren Stephenson's header struck the post. For Caernarfon, Jones lined up another free-kick in a dangerous position, but his effort on this occasion was pushed onto the crossbar by keeper Flint. Flint made another crucial save just before the interval to deny Caernarfon midfielder Lock, who was through on goal.
Owen himself created an opportunity for himself a few minutes later only to blast his effort over the crossbar. Caernarfon, seeing out the game, made a number of substitutions with the most significant being the introduction of veteran Darren Thomas. It was fitting that Thomas, alongside captain and man of the match Gosset, lifted the Cup and mark a historic day for Caernarfon Town.
A tremendous performance by the Cofis who deserved their win but credit too to Flint who kept going to the end despite the early goals. And a very special mention to both sets of supporters who made the long and difficult journey to Newport on a Sunday and created a great atmosphere. FAW need to learn - hold the final in a location convenient for both clubs in future.
Image source,FAW
Image caption,
**Matty Jones celebrates after scoring Caernarfon's second goal.**
**Teams:**
Caernarfon Town: Connor Roberts, Matty Jones, Phil Mooney, Paulo Mendes, Danny Gosset (Captain), Zack Clarke (Brad Young 83'), Sion Bradley (Darren Thomas 88'), Adrian Cieslewicz (Rio Owen 85'), Josh Lock (Iwan Lewis 85'), Kyle Harrison, Ryan Sears (Morgan Owen 85') *Substitutes:* Hari Thomas, Adam Davies
Flint Town United: Jack Flint, Ben Woollam, Mikey Burke (Josh Jones 76'), Sidi Fofana, Harry Owen (Captain), Jack Thorn (Jake Phillips 45'), Ben Hughes (Ben Wynne 90'), Elliott Reeves, Lee Jonas (Max Purvis 81'), Jake Canavan, Darren Stephenson *Substitutes:* Dawid Szczepaniak, Evan Smith, Alec Mudimu
Referee: Iwan Griffith Attendance: 2,224
Surprisngly Caernarfon have spent much of their history in the English game. They were a pretty strong Northern Premier League side by the mid 1980s, had a great FA Cup run too. They were very reluctant to make the move to Welsh football; for a few years they were one of the 'exiles' and played 'home' games at Curzon Ashton as a consequence.
*BLOG ENDS HERE!!*

Sunday, 12 April 2026

AT WEMBLEY "TODAY" IN THE PAST and... more

12th April 1924 In the first ever international match at Wembley England drew 1-1 with Scotland in front of a disappointingly low crowd of 37,250.

Today Luton play Stockport atWembley in the Vertu Trophy Final. The Vertu Trophy is a midweek knockout cup competition which includes Clubs from EFL League One and League Two, plus an additional 16 invited sides from Premier League and EFL Championship clubs with Category One Academies. Vertu (stylised VERTU) is a Hong Kong based manufacturer and retailer of luxury mobile phones. The company was originally established in London in 1998 as a subsidiary of the Finnish telecommunications company Nokia. LUTON 2-1 up @ 16.50!!

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Telecommunications
Founded	1998; 28 years ago
Founder	Nokia
Defunct	July 13, 2017; 8 years ago
Fate	Bankruptcy (Hong Kong-based unit acquired and relaunched by Baferton Co, Ltd. in 2017)
Headquarters	Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Luxury mobile phones
Number of employees	200
Parent	Vertu International Corporation Limited

and on the12th April 1987 Hillsborough hosted the FA Cup semi-final between Coventry City and Leeds United. For Coventry it was the first time they had reached the last 4 of the FA Cup while in the Leeds camp defender Neil Aspin was forced to postpone his wedding which had been arranged for that day. Leeds didn't have a match on that Sunday when the wedding date had been set! Well Coventry won the match - and went on to defeat Spurs in the final!!!- and Aspin got married a couple of weeks later. I guess he was forced to do the washing-up for weeks as his penance!

ACTUALLY!!! Aspin has stated that he wants his players to be "honest" by not feigning injury or otherwise attempting to cheat and that he tries to be respectful towards officials. He also has a reputation for honesty in dealing with the media, giving fair assessments of his team's performances. He does not allow his players to wear gloves during first-team matches. He tends to prefer to play defensive football.

Senior career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1982–1989	Leeds United	207	(5)
1989–1999	Port Vale	348	(3)
1999–2001	Darlington	50	(0)
2001	Hartlepool United	10	(0)
2001–2004	Harrogate Town (brief!)
2009–2014	FC Halifax Town	0	(0)
Total		615	(8)